Device for packing nails and like articles.



- Patented June 13, 1916.

Fi EL 2 J. ROBERTSON. DEVICE FOR PACKING NAILS AND LIKE ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JULYSI. I915. 1,187,098.

Fllil- THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0,, WASHINGTON. D2 4:.

S WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES ROBERTSON, 0F MONESSEN, BENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGHOB; TO. PITTSBURGH STEEL COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF BENNSYLVANIA.

' Specificatiom'of- Letters Patent.

Patented June 13, 1916'.

Application filedsJuly 31, 191 5. Serial No; 429992.

To all whom z'tmay concern:

Be it. known that I, JAMES RoBnRrrsoN, a citizen. of the United States, and. resident of Monessen, in the county of Westmorelandand State of Pennsylwania, have invented. a new and useful Improvement in Devices for Packing Nails and Like Articles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof My invention relates to a device for packing nailsor like articles in kegs or'other receptacles, the object of my inventiionbeing to provide a device of thisv character, by means of which the nails will-be discharged into the keg in such position that eachvnail. lies substantially parallel withthe other, so as to be: packed close together, -making it possible to ship a great many more nailsin the ordinary sized keg, thanwherea' the nailsare discharged into the keg irrespective of their position one with the other and leaving a great deal of waste-spacebetweerr the support for the keg;

nails. 7

By my invention, I provide a support for .the keg, which is adapted to; elevate the keg up in position with a discharge hopper or chute sothat said hopper extend'sdown into the keg, said hopper containing means for bringing the nails intoparallel, or substan-- tially parallel, position. so that'they are discharged into the keg in this. way, and means for providing for the lowering of'the keg as it is gradually filled, the hopper-remaining stationary- In this way the key is lowered as it is filled and when completely filled,

passes below the hopper so asto be readily removed and another one inserted in its place.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of'my improved device; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the keg, the discharge hopper, and the and Fig. 3 is a crosssection on the line 33, Fig. 1..

In the drawing, the numeral 2 designates a tank for containing water or other suitable liquid. A float 3 is contained within said receptacle, said float being connected with the rod 4:, which maybe in the form of a pipe, and which extends out through the opening 5 of said tank. Connected to the rod 4 is the yoke-member 6 provided with the arms 7 These arms form the support for the suspended platform 8, said platform being supported on the swinging members 9, which are suspended from the arms 7 The. yoke-member is guided by the guides 6. 7

v The platform 8 has the extension 10 with v the-bearing 11,,which1 engages the vertical shaft 12, said shaft forming a guide for said platform in its upward and downward:

movement, as will more fully hereinafter appear.; 7

A clamping ring 11 is adapted to surround thekeg, said. clamping ring having the swinging sections 11 adapted to be connected by the thumb-screw 11.

The; shaft 12 is mounted in the foot 13 which slides on the receptacle 2, and the upper end of said shaft forms the support for the: feeding-hopper or chute 14c, said hopperhaving-the socket 15 into which said shaft its This feed-hopper or chute 14L has the mouth. 16. into which thenail-s are dischargedfrom the hopper 17 The throat portion 18' of the hopper l t-has the "inclined. plates 19 and'20, which deliver the nails tothe contracted opening-2l leading into the main-portion of thehopper. The lower portion 22 of the hopper 14 is divided by the partition 23, as indicated in, Fig. 2, and in addition, there are the shorter partitions 24: at the bottom of thechute, said partitions being. preferably of varying height and forming the slotted openings 24*; The purpose of these partitionsis to cause the nails topass from. the bottom opening of said chute in practically parallel relation to each other, so thatthey will enter the keg in this position and so provide for the close contact of the nails one with another, and the packing of a, greater number in the keg.

It will be found desirable in packing nails inga device of this character to have the keg and the'fee'ding chute vibrate so as toprovide. fortheproper distribution of the nails by'the partitions 24, and the closer relation of the nails one with another when they pass:.-into the keg. It is on the same principle as when a barrel of any loose material is jarred or shaken so as to compact the contents. Accordingly I provide for this jarring or vibrating of the keg and hopper, and to this end a rod 25 is connected up to a suitable source of power, whereby reciprocating movement is imparted to said rod, and connected to the rod 25 is the arm 26,

and at the outer end of said arm is secured a ries the rocker-arm 28, which is adapted to engage the seat 29 in the bracket 30, which is connected to the vertical shaft 12. A bar 31- connects the arm 26 with the arm 32, which is secured to the rock-shaft 33, the rocker-arm 3 L engaging the bracket 35 on the shaft 12.

In packing nails with my improved device, the keg 36 is adjusted on the platform 8 by lowering said platform, as indicated in dotted lines Fig. 1, whereupon the float 3 will lift the platform and keg carried thereby up into position indicated in full lines Fig. 1, and in this position of the keg, the hopper 14 will be inside the keg and its lower end well down to the bottom of the keg, as indicated in Fig. 2. The nails are then introduced into the hopper 17, and passing therefrom are discharged by the plates 19 and 20 through the inlet 21 into the main body of the hopper. 'The mass of nails thus introduced is divided by the partition 23. The nails pass down through the chute and come in contact with the partitions 24, which act to bring the nails into practical parallel position with each other. By having someof the partitions 24 higher than others, the bridging of the nails from one partition to another is prevented, and the clogging up avoided. The nails pass from the hopper into the keg in the position in which they are discharged from said hopper; and, at the same time, the hopper and keg are vibrated by the action of the reciprocating rod 25. This jarring action acts to cause the nails to settle closer to gether in the keg, and as the nails enter the keg the weight thereof acts gradually to lower the keg, the float 3 sinking down in the water of the tank 2. This downward movement of the keg is gradual, andthe resistance offered by the float is in pro-portion to the weight of the nails, sothat when the keg has been filled to its capacity, the float will have been lowered to a point where the keg will have passed below the lower end of the hopper 14, asindicated in dotted lines, Fig. 1, and in position to be removed from the platform.

It is apparent that a device of this kind may be arranged in series, one beside the other; and the kegs can be arranged to be at different stages of being filled so that one operator can attend to several machines.

While I have illustrated the tank and float therein as a desirable and convenient way of raising and lowering the keg, it is apparent that other means may be employed for this purpose if desirable.

What I claim is:

1. In a device for packing nails or like articles, the combination of a support for the keg, a receptacle for liquid, a float in said receptacle, connections between said float and said support, and a chute in line with said support and adapted to enter the keg supported thereon when said support is raised.

2. In a device for packing nails or like articles, the combination of a support for the keg, means for raising said support, a chute in line with said support and adapted to enter the keg when elevated, and means for vibrating said chute and keg.

3. In a device forpacking nails or like articles, the combination of a support for the keg, means for raising said support, a chute in line with said support adaptedto enter the keg when elevated, a vertical shaft engaged by said support and carrying said chute, and means for moving said shaft back and forth in a plane at right angles to its axis.

4;. In a device for packing nails or like articles, the combination of a support for the keg, a chute adapted to enter the keg, and partitions of unequal height'in said chute forming slotted openings through which the nails are discharged into said keg.

In a device for packing nails or like articles, the combination of a support for the keg, a chute adapted to enter the keg, said chute having at its upper end a con- *t'racted inlet, a partition dividing said chute,

and a series of shorter partitions forming slotted openings for the discharge of the nails into the keg.

In testimony whereof, I the said JAMES RoBEu'rsoN, have hereunto set my hand.

J AMES ROBERTSON.

Witnesses:

ROBT. D. TOTTEN, JOHN F. WILL.

. Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, I). G. 

